ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Marcos order to ban POGOs proof of a 'listening President'—Barbers

Marcos order to ban POGOs proof of a 'listening President'—Barbers

Published Jul 23, 2024 12:28 pm

At A Glance

  • Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said he wasn't surprised that a total ban on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) was announced since he knew that President Marcos listens to the "clamor of the people".

IMG-3cfce36d0945ae4d0af1f526bed8548a-V.jpgSurigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers (Contributed photo)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said he wasn’t surprised that a total ban on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) was announced since he knew that President Marcos listens to the “clamor of the people”.

“Malakas ang boses ng taongbayan na nanawagan na i-ban itong POGO na ito. Kaya may ganoong kalakas na panawagan, ito ay pinakinggan ng ating Pangulo,” Barbers said in an ambush interview after the State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 22.

(The voice of the people who call for the ban of POGO is loud. So there was such a strong call, it was heard by our President.)

“Which tells us na (that) we have a listening president,” he added.

Barbers, one of the most vocal proponents of the ban, said POGOs were influential in the rise of criminality. He specifically cited what he calls “unconscionable crimes” such as torture, beheading, and murder.

“All these crimes were caused by the existence of all these POGOs dito sa atin (here in our country). Kaya tuwang-tuwa ako na binan na at hindi na magkakaroon ng mga ganitong krimen sa ating bansa (That's why I'm so happy that it's banned and there won't be any more crimes like this in our country),” he said.

Despite the prohibition on POGOs, the lawmaker emphasized that the House of Representatives will continue its probe on these gambling companies and its reported links to anomalous activities.

“We will proceed with our investigation because we must put to rest the issue of accountability,” said Barbers, a vice chairperson of the Committee on Public Order and Safety that had been investigating POGOs in the lower chamber.

He stressed that local government officials, members of the Philippine National Police (PNP), and government agencies that will be found to be involved with POGOs should be held accountable.

“Una diyan ang mga nagbibigay ng (First there are those who issue) [fake] birth certificate,” the solon pointed out, referring to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Barbers has long criticized the PSA for allowing Chinese nationals to “bribe their way in and out of mess” and enable them to obtain supposedly fraudulent identification to pose as Filipinos.

“Lahat ito ay (All of these are) within the confines of the law. So dapat desisyunan at magkaroon ito ng accountability (So there must be a decision and accountability here),” he continued.

Related Tags

Robert Ace Barbers POGO President Marcos
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.